Community leaders are hoping a recent business growth spurt is a positive sign for the city's future.
A list of approximately 30 new businesses that were awarded licenses by the city in 2012 includes a wide range of services - everything from restaurants and frozen treats to law firms, retail shops, salons and vehicle mechanics.
"It's wonderful. There's new business places all over town, and that's great - we need all of them," said Nancy Lewis, executive director of the Kingdom of Callaway Chamber of Commerce, describing the recent growth as the most significant Fulton has seen in several years. "What to me is most exciting is we've desperately needed that new business growth for a number of years, and it's wonderful to see that.
"You keep reading about how the country is coming out of the recession. Hopefully this means we are coming out of it too."
Fulton Area Development Corporation President Bruce Hackmann agreed that the past several months in particular have been "one of the stronger periods we've seen" for business growth.